Pilots want all hangar leases extendedThe Russellville City Council’s Finance Committee voted to extend the hangar lease at Russellville Regional Airport for a prospective business, but many pilots left Tuesday’s meeting without a similar agreement. Airport Director Keith Frazier told aldermen the Airport Commission recommended to extend the hangar lease for Precision Applicators. Frazier said he thought the council should do whatever is in the best economic interest of the airpor...

Faith Night concert tonightMiss Arkansas Outstanding Teen contestants were welcomed to Russellville Tuesday evening with an arrival ceremony at The Center for the Arts and were then paired with a Diamond State Prince or Princess to mentor. A special fundraising Faith Night Concert will be held at 6:30 this evening to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. Tickets will be available at the door and at the box office. Pictured are Miss Arkansas, Ashton Campbell (back left...

Alliance, council try to move forwardBY SEAN INGRAM sean@couriernews.com The Russellville City Council and members of the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED) met for nearly two hours Tuesday and discussed questions and disputed answers about the past, the present and looked to continue their relationship for the foreseeable future. “We want to get to the comfort level you need, so this relationship will continue,” AVAED Chairman Bryce Mobley said. Most were ...

Week-long events begin tonightThirty-six young ladies from across the state, between ages 13-17, will converge on the Russellville High School Center for the Arts this week for the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen (MAOT) pageant. The MAOT scholarship pageant, which begins today with an arrival ceremony, is intended to encourage and reward the talent, communications skills, community service and academic achievements of girls between ages 13 and 17. The arrival ceremony, whic...

Local children complete "good sibling" classBringing a new baby home is always exciting and sometimes challenging for siblings. That’s why each month, Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center hosts “goodsiblings,” a fun and interactive class specially created for brothers and sisters of a new baby. It’s a great way to learn how to be a “good” big brother or a “good” big sister. The May Goodsiblings Class graduates are: Gracie Cano, Daton Cano, Kinsey Williams and Alexis Leach. Children that...

News Briefs (June 9, 2015)River Valley Arts seeks local artists The River Valley Arts Center is looking for local artists for the July gallery. Artist will appear at the gallery with their art work and will be available for a gallery talk and question and answer time at the exhibit opening at 1-3 p.m. on July 5. There will be refreshments and an opportunity to meet the artists. The reception is free to the public. It will be hosted by Elizabeth Harris and Theresa Magil...

RMS loves the library nightRussellville Middle School language arts teachers recently organized a RMS Loves the Library Night in an effort to encourage students to continue reading over the summer. The teachers invited parents and students to come to the Pope County Library to hear Children’s Librarian Emily Moore share information about the library’s summer reading programs and events, and to apply for a library card. All RMS students with a Pope County library card wi...

Community photo: CenturyLink presents Dover Elementary with $1,743Dover Elementary School Principal Josh Daniels (left) and classroom teacher Amber Race were recently presented with $1,743 in technology funding from CenturyLink area plant supervisor Dustin Garrett as part of the company’s Clark M. Williams Foundation Teacher and Technology grant program. Race wrote the proposal for using an iMac computer plus digital video creation and editing capabilities in the classroom. This is one of five projects Centu...

RHS journalism students win bigThe three publication staffs at Russellville High School recently competed at the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association convention in Rogers and walked away with multiple awards. Senior Candace Williams earned the Newspaper Editor of the Year award and Literary Magazine Writer of the Year award. This is the second year in a row that The Red and Black newspaper staffs have had the honor of the ASPA Editor of the Year award. “I was so proud for ...

Leadership Russellville to accept donations for Pope Co. foster care systemLeadership Russellville will collect goods to provide to local foster families during tonight’s showing of Sunset Cinema, an annual program of the Russellville Chamber of Commerce, at 6 p.m. at Lake Dardanelle State Park. In return for donations, the $1 admission fee for those 13 and older will be waived. In case of rain, Sunset Cinema will be moved to the L. V. Williamson Boys and Girls Club Gymnasium at 600 E. 16th St. Items can be donated i...

Dardanelle decides not to construct pump stationDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Water/Wastewater Committee decided Wednesday to not go ahead with the construction of a $318,752 booster pump station and tabled the issue to be discussed at a later date. “We discussed the pump station situation needed to fill the tank at the north end of town, but we decided to leave the matter where it is and pick it up at a different time,” water department manager Bill Smith said. “It won’t be constructed for t...

Home sales up in Pope CountyLITTLE ROCK — Sales of new and existing homes were up nearly 18.5 percent in Pope County in March, and nearly 3.5 percent for the year to date. According to statistics provided by the Arkansas Realtors Association (ARA), 77 new and existing homes were sold in March 2015, compared to 65 for the same period in 2014. From January through March, 179 homes were sold, an increase of 3.47 percent over the 173 sold from January through March 2014. Joh...

Accuracy of crematorium permit questionedAn opponent of a proposed crematorium near Center Valley Elementary School has even more questions after reviewing a permit granted by a state agency. Scott Steuber has opposed Center Valley Gardens and Humphrey Family Properties LLC because he said he has children who will attend the nearby school and has not been told by a state agency that the crematorium will be safe. He has more questions after he discovered the Arkansas Department of Env...

District Teacher of the Year: “Every kid should feel valued”Brandon Cooper didn’t take the traditional route to becoming a teacher, and his philosophy in the classroom at Russellville High School is a far cry from the pedantic formalism thought to define education. It’s this innovation and creative restructuring of student-teacher relationships that won him the 2015 Russellville School District Teacher of the Year award. Cooper, now 37, didn’t get his degree in history education from Arkansas Tech Univ...

Headline Comedy benefit to help familyA comedian who has been seen and heard throughout the country but grew up in Clarksville has added concerts to benefit the family of Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Sonny Smith. Ralphie May has scheduled several shows in Arkansas including Clarksville to benefit Smith. His Facebook page stated on Saturday that Smith “was a good man” and announced additional concerts “for his wife and babies.” Smith, 42, died on May 15 when he was shot investig...

School groups report achievements at board meetingDOVER — The Dover School Board began its May meeting Thursday night hearing presentations from various school groups on their recent achievements. Representatives of the Middle School East program, including Faith Johnson, Jaxon Bull, Tandem Young, Rylie Wheeler, Samantha Moorhouse, June Musgrove, and Sarah Rainey and their teacher Shawnna Bull, showed the board a slide show of their March trip to the National East Conference in Hot Springs. T...

Memorial service for slain deputy to be held at Clarksville High School CLARKSVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Friends, family and community members are set to gather to remember the life and service of an Arkansas reserve deputy who was killed while responding to a burglary report. A public memorial ceremony for Johnson County Deputy Sonny Smith will take place 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Clarksville High School. State police say 51-year-old Fred Kauffeld fatally shot Smith May 15. Kauffeld faces a capital murder charge and has be...